Manufacture of hats



JOSEPH JOHNSON, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

MANUFACTURE 0F HATS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 14,062, dated January 8, 1856.

T 0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOSEPH JOHNSON, of the city of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and Improved Method of Manufacturing Hats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in using and adapting a fabric made after the s ender splints or small strips of whalebone, or of either willow, cane, or other similar wood fiber, as the weft, interwoven with common thread of any suitable kind as the warp, the same being out out in the required shape, diagonally across the said fibers thereof, and cemented together with soft water-proof gum of any suitable kind, in two or more layers, so that the said splints or strips of whale bone, or wood fiber of each adjoining layer shall cross those of the other, and in forming the same, in combination with the said soft water-proof gum, either alone or in combination with cork leaves, into a hat body which shall be light, elastic and also more durable in wearing in hot climates and without the use of the hard gums heretofore required in making hats, and also in adapting and using in the construction of these hats, when so required, a thin metallic ring, or narrow, thin annular plate, in combination with the turn over around the square, for the purpose of keeping the upper part of the hat in its proper cylindrical form, when the tip is made lighter and thinner than the side crown thereof, as when made of mosquito curtain material, or open net, for supporting the outside covering above the same, so that the said hat may be Ventilating, through the tip when so required.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construct-ion, and the mode of operation.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l represents the shape of half a side crown piece; and Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the shape of a whole side crown piece, asI cut them diagonally out of the fabric, before described previously to their being seamed, and cemented together in layers of two or more, the relative position of the whale bone, or

wood fiber thereof, being shown by the diagonal lines in Figs. 3 and 4f. Fig. 5, represents the body of the hat as constructed previously to the application of the covering, A, being the tip, B, the side crown,77 C the brim, D the band, or turn up of the brim, and E, the turn over, at the square In manufacturing these hat-s, I usually proceed as follows: I take two half side crown pieces (shaped as in Fig. 1),or which is more convenient, one whole side crown piece (shaped as in Fig. 2) cut out of thin cork leaf, and lay it over the woven fabric of whalebone, or wood fiber and thread (before described) as a pattern, and cut therefrom two corresponding side crown pieces (Figs. 3 and 4.,) so that when one of the said pieces of woven fabric is laid directly upon the other (their edges being even with each other) the splints Or strips of whalebone, or wood fiber thereof shall cross each other respectively. I then coat one side of each of these side crown pieces of woven fabric, with a thick coat of india rubber, or gut-ta percha, or any other suitable soft water-proo-f gum in solution, and cement them together, the fibers of each piece crossing those of the other, as beforedescribed. A coat of t-he same soft gum is now applied on one side of the cork side crown piece before mentioned, and also a like coat upon one side of the united plies of the woven fabric. for the side crown, is determined by the block over which the hat is to be made; but if the hand of the workman cannot apply it sufficiently tight in measuring, it is necessary to cut the side crown pieces about a quarter of an inch shorter than the hand measurement indicates around the block. After the two-ply side crown piece becomes dry, I hot press it sufficiently to give it a smooth and even surface. I now chamfer the end edges of these side crown pieces, by grinding them down with glass paper, so as to make the joining seams when formed, equal in thickness with the other parts of the same, and coat t-he chamfered parts of each piece so as to stick the two ends of each together, forming each into a.

tube using a part of the block in the operation, as a rest beneath the same, and also a moderately hot iron if the cement is of gut-ta percha, but if of india rubber, simple pressure will be suflicient. I now place the tubular side crown thus formed of the The size of the pieces cork, within the tubular side crown formed of the wovenfabric, so that their ends are even, and the sides thereof which were previously coated with the soft gum, shall come in close contact and with their restrictive seams on opposite sides. I then cement them together by pressure, or with the aid of heat if necessary. I sometimes construct the side crown without the cork leaf as one of the layers thereof, and also somet-imes without the cork leaf when a very strong hat is required, using only the woven fabric described, in which cases, two, three or even four of the layers of the woven fabric described, may be used, and also in such cases, I unite t-he two ends of each layer piece (forming them into the tubular shape) previously to cement-ing the pieces together (Which is perhaps the best mode in all cases), so as to enable me to bring their respective seams at different parts of the finished side crown, increasing its strength, but in all cases, each woven-fabric piece is cut out diagonally across the fibers thereof, so as to bring the whalebone, or wood fiber splints of each adjoining layer in the side crown, across each other as before described, the same being chamfered and seamed together at their ends, precisely inV the manner before described, the layers of course being chamfered and jointed at their ends so as to make the inner one slightly less in diameter after being joined, than the outer one, so as to admit of their being united at their gummed surfaces, without wrinkling. After steeping the side crown in water a few minutes, I force in the block, which operation, if attended with difficulty, on account of stiffness in the side crown, a little warming before a fire will cause it to block easily. The side crown must not be less than one fourth of an inch deeper than the block, so that a narrow portion thereof may be turned over on the block (as shown at E, Fig. 5) and then coated with the um.

I make the tip (A) of the same kind of materials as the side crown, and also cement or coat it with the soft gums in the same manner, when the metallic ring or annular plate is not to be applied, and stick it upon the turn over by means of heat or pressure; but when a lighter or more open tip is required for the hat, or when an open net support for the plush or other covering is desired as before stated, I make use of or apply the thin narrow metallic ring or annular plate before mentioned, which consists simply of a thin narrow piece of steel, sheet brass, or other metal, about an eighth of an inch wide, bent or cut out so as to form a ring, which will t in between the plies or layers of the turn over around the square (as shown at E) for the purpose of keeping the upper part of the hat in its proper cylindrical form, when finished. After fixing this metallic ring or plate as described, I then stretch a piece of mosquito curtain fabric, or open net, across the top of the body, and stick it fast upon the turn over by heat or pressure, and when dry enough, trim off all which extends over the square.

For the brim (C) I stretch upon a frame a piece of calico, and then cut two or three pieces, each of the same size, from the woven fabric of whalebone, or wood fiber and thread, before described, and place the latter together, cementing them so that the strips or splints of each piece shall cross those of the adjoining one as before described, and then cement it to the calico on the frame, applying also upon the upper layer of the woven fabric a thin piece of muslin, and coating the whole with the soft gum in solution as before described. The number of plies of the woven fabric of whalebone or wood liber may be thus increased, if a thicker or st-ier brim is required. When sufficiently dry I cut out the brim to the shape required, allowing about one fourth of an inch for the band or turn up (D) which is them chamfered with glass paper and stuck to the lower part of the side crown, on the block, in the same manner as the side crown is closed.

Finally, I now coat the whole outside of the body with soft gum, and it is ready for covering with the silk plush, or any other suitable material, in the usual manner.

The utility of my improvement is shown in the fact that a more elastic and durable hat for warm climates can be produced thereby than by any other mode heretofore known or used, because the chief material constituting the body, being composed principally of whalebone, or of tough and elastic wood fiber in the form of splints or strips, woven into a fabric as described, and the layers thereof combined together with soft water-proof gums in the most advantageous manner for producing elasticity and lightness with strength and durability, and formed up into a body adapted for receiving the plush or other covering without a particle of the hard gums heretofore required, which (being liable to decompose and crumble by the action of perspiration thereon when worn in warm climates) cause the hat to lose its shape; and also in the fact that by the application and use of the metallic ring or plate as described, the hat can be made exceedingly light and porous in the tip Swhich is much required in hot climates and at the same time so as not/to be liable to breaks, or the loss of its proper cylindrical form at the square Having thus described my invention and shown its utility, I proceed to state that I do not claim, in manufacturing hats, the use of soft, Water-proof gums, nor vthe combination of the same with Whale-bone, Wood fiber, cork, tarleton, or With either of them, as these have been used before; nor do I claim the peculiar fabric herein described as Woven after the manner of hair cloth, and consisting of thread interwoven With slender strips of either Whalebone, Willow or other Wood fiber, although Jthe said fabric is believed to be new; but

IVhat I claim as my invention and desire t0 secure by Letters Patent isl. The application and use of the said fabric in the construction of hat bodies, when the same is cut from the web, united JOSEPH JOHNSON.

lVitnesses MARTIN DOLL, G. LEVAY. 

